Important Teachings on Being a Disciple
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Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2 It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 So watch yourselves.
“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
7 “Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”
Introduction
Introduction
We’ve just come out of an extended section in Luke’s Gospel where Jesus was particularly engaging with or confronting the teachings and attitudes of the Pharisees and other religious leaders.
Jesus’ teachings included various warnings, both to the Pharisees and the disciples. It included exhortations to live with one’s heart set upon Christ, rather than on the things of this world.
This morning, we come to a section in which Christ turns to his disciples and begins to teach them a number of important lessons on being disciples of Christ.
He’s addressing the important matter of what it means to be a disciple. There are certain attitudes that are befitting a disciple, and it’s important that they hear these truths and live accordingly.
What we will find is that the attitudes are very strikingly different from the attitudes of the Pharisees.
There are four key lessons that are brought through in this section, and we will briefly consider each leasson.
The first lesson is…
1. The Careful Life of a Disciple (vv.1-3a)
1. The Careful Life of a Disciple (vv.1-3a)
In verse 1 of chapter 17 we read…
1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.
Now, immediately we see that there is a highly plausible link between the preceding section and what we find Jesus teaching here. The religious leaders were those who were supposed to be teaching and leading the people to serve and worship God, but they themselves had proved to be stumbling blocks to the people. In fact they had severely hindered the people from worshiping God as they ought.
And so, Jesus addresses this. And this is a very serious issue.
Jesus begins by acknowledging the fact that things that cause people to sin are bound to come.
When Christ speaks here of “stumbling blocks,” or “things that cause people to sin,” he’s including a broad range of possible ways that a person may lead another person, particularly another disciple of Jesus, to loosen or lessen their allegiance to Christ.
The reality is that the world in which we live is sin-cursed. The reality of life is that Satan is a roaring lion, prowling around, looking whom he may devour.
This is a critical point for every Christian to understand. We live in the context of a spiritual battle that is unfolding around us. God’s curse upon the world from Genesis 3 is an ever-present reality, and we forget this to our own detriment.
But Christ’s real concern here is the fact that
Christ is not unaware. Stumbling blocks will arise for people, even for devout Christians. We need to learn from this that as Christians, we need to be on our guard. We need to circumspectly in the world. We need to live with wisdom, an awareness.
However, the emphasis of Jesus here is not so much on the general reality of sin in the world, and temptations that are to be found in the world, but the fact that there are times when people lead disciples of Christ to sin against him, or to fall away from Him.
Christ’s warning is strong. He says here that the person through whom those stumbling blocks come; the one that causes another little one to stumble, is essentially accursed.
“Woe to that person through whom they come.”
This is a strong pronouncement of condemnatory judgment upon the person through whom these stumbling blocks come.
I don’t want us to miss the weight of what Jesus is saying here.
The words that are used here are the same words that are used in the context of Jesus being betrayed by Judas.
22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.”
The teaching by Jesus here is striking, and it ought to cause us to pause and carefully reflect.
Why is this such an important and weighty matter in the eyes of Jesus?
The reason is quite simply that any sin is to be seen as a rebellion against God. For someone to sin, it is for them to turn away from the ways of God that have been given through His revelation in Scripture, and to walk or act in a manner contrary to God’s ways.
It was Satan in the Garden of Eden that caused Adam and Eve to turn away from God. And the consequences of that one act have had repurcussions through the course of history (an under-statement!!)
Friends, to lead people to stumble and to sin is extremely serious. Christ is very clear on this.
Now what are some ways that this happens? We do need to recognise that there was a particular kind of stumbling block that is very serious in the immediate context.
In the context of Jesus teaching his disciples, one of the key areas in which a person may have been leading others to stumble was in the area of religion itself.
The religious leaders were certainly doing that. They were teaching and proclaiming things contrary to what Christ was teaching. They were in opposition to him. They were teaching a reliance upon good works for salvation.
What the religious leaders were teaching the people to observe was leading them into even greater condemnation, and away from the true ways of God.
The emphasis on the importance of this particular area of leading astray / causing to stumble is found in Paul letter to the Galatians, even in the context of proclaiming a slightly perverted Gospel.
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;
7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!
9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
Paul taught the Galatians that to add any good work to the reliance upon Christ for salvation was to proclaim a Gospel message that was no Gospel at all. And Paul was clear that these Christians were in great danger because of this false proclamation.
For any person to say that you need Christ plus observance of particular laws and commands in order to be saved is a perversion of the Gospel and will lead people to self-destruction. And so Paul says, let such a person be accursed.
This is precisely what Jesus was warning about.
But I don’t believe that we should leave it there. I don’t believe that this is the only kind of stumbling block that Jesus was talking about. Rather, he was referring to anything that could cause another Christian, particularly young Christians, to stumble.
What are some examples of this? Philip Ryken is helpful in providing some thoughts on how we may do this…
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Don’t Tempt Me!
What are some ways we lead people astray? We do it any time our actions or attitudes set a bad spiritual example. We do it when our complaining spirit causes other people to be discontent. We do it by speaking evil words that unfairly influence someone else’s opinion. We do it by carrying on an argument to the point where we provoke an angry response. We do it by enticing someone to commit sexual sin or join us for some juicy gossip. We do it by boasting of our accomplishments or acquisitions in a way that makes other people envious or boastful
I do believe that we need to see the weightiness of Jesus’ words here. Christ is deeply concerned that no child of His be led into sin, or led away from Him, through the actions or conduct of another.
In fact, Jesus goes on in verse 2 to outline just how serious such causes of stumbling are by making use of a very vivid picture…
2 It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
Jesus uses a very graphic picture here in order to convey the seriousness of leading people astray. He says, rather they have a huge stone tied around their necks and thrown into the depths of the ocean.
The millstone that is mentioned here is not a small stone that is carried by man… it speaks of a huge rock that was drawn by a donkey that was drawn over the grain in order to crush it. This was a heavy stone, that when tied around a neck of a person thrown into the sea, drowning would be inevitable.
In other words, it is safer to be put to death than to cause someone to stumble.
Notice the “someone” that Jesus refers to here. “One of these little ones...”
Jesus is referring to those who spiritual children. They are those who are the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and Jesus loves them. He has an affection for them. He has a care over their lives.
Christ is concerned that those who are his be protected from being led astray, or being caused to stumble.
The warning then comes to His disciples…
Luke 17:3 (NIV84)
3 So watch yourselves....
As Disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to live carefully in the world among others, being sure to not lead anyone else to sin. In the New Testament letters, some examles of this are given.
We are cautioned to not pass judgment on another Christian in terms of matters of freedom of conscience (obviously not referring to confronting sin…)
13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.
We are to be careful to not allow our freedom of conscience to let another be led astray.
15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
A similar truth is outlined in 1 Cor 8:9-13.
Now, let me add that we will not lose our salvation if we do something that causes another to stumble. God’s grace is sufficient to cover all our own. However, we must not allow the seriousness of this to pass us by.
The life of the disciple is to be a careful and considered life.
2. The Forgiving Spirit of a Disciple (vv.3b-4)
2. The Forgiving Spirit of a Disciple (vv.3b-4)
Following on from this important teaching, Jesus goes on to speak to his disciples about the importance of forgiveness.
Luke 17:3 (NIV84)
3 ........
“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
Jeus now deals with a very important issue in the Christian life, that of another Christian sinning against you.
Notice the instructions of Jesus. Firstly, if your brother sins against you, how are you to respond? Jesus says that you are to rebuke such a person.
A couple of things are important to keep in mind.
Firstly, we need to recognise that Jesus is speaking about actual sin against you. Sometimes, particularly as we live in an age where people are very sensitive and easily offended, they think that just about anything that upsets them or ruffles their feathers a little bit is sin. That’s not the case.
Sin is defined in the Scriptures according to the Word of God, and we want to be careful that when we are saying to someone that they are sinning against us, they truly are sinning against us. We need to be careful that the person is truly sinning against us.
Beyond that, we need to keep in mind that any rebuke that we bring to the person that sins against us is not a harsh and nasty rebuke. We are not to carry out vengeance through our rebuke.
We are not to have words filled with bitterness and rage directed at the person and then claim that we’re rebuking them. It’s never to be done with a spirit of hostility. Rather, it’s to be done in a spirit of love and compassion. It’s to be done with gentleness.
It is to be done with the sincere desire for restoration and reconciliation in relationships, and a transformation of hearts by the grace of God.
Whenever we do this, we are to keep the Gospel in mind.
We need to keep in mind that we are mere sinners saved only by the grace of God. Our offences against God are well in excess of any sin that may be brought against us, and we are therefore to exercise patience and compassion and love in bringing this rebuke.
I mentioned in our Adult classes last week Ephesians 4:15, speaking the truth in love. We must speak the truth as it is appropriate, but that truth should be marked by and enveloped in an attitude and disposition of Biblical love. The characteristics of bibilcal love, such as patience and kindness, humility, gentleness - all of these are to mark the manner in which this rebuke is brought.
But notice what Christ says further… if they repent, then you are to forgive them.
Two things are important to note here. The goal of such rebuke is the repentance of one who has sinned. If you are the one that has been confronted in your sin, then the call of Christ to you is that you repent.
But beyond this, and the thrust of Jesus’ teaching, is that forgiveness is essential. Biblical forgiveness is to mark the life of the Christian.
Notice verse 4…
4 “And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
Notice that we are not merely to forgive once, but to forgive repeatedly, so long as repentance is forthcoming from the person who sinned against you.
Let me ask, what is the nature of this forgiveness? In answering that, we need to keep in mind the broader Gospel… It is those who are unworthy and ongoingly sinful that are saved by the grace of God. Nonetheless, the Scriptures teach that the forgiveness of God leads the sins of wicked and rebellious people to be cast away such that they are no longer seen or remembered.
Two passages in Hebrews quote Isaiah 43:25....
12 “For I will be merciful to their iniquities,
And I will remember their sins no more.”
17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds
I will remember no more.”
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
God is the one who covers our own sins. Christ therefore teaches his disciples taht they are to forgive. Not only that, but they are to forget those sins in the sense that they never again raise the sins against that person.
Can you imagine if God regularly began to remind you of your sin and your failures. Yes you’re forgiven, says God, but let me just remind you of these sins… It’s impossible - it would run contrary to the very promises of God.
But in our day, so often we find that people drag up the sins of the past and remind a person of their sins that are supposed to have been forgiven. Friends, it cannot be.
Biblical forgiveness puts those sins committed against you to rest forever. When a person is confronted with their sin, they confess that they have sinned, and they declare to you, “I repent, please forgive me,” then forgiveness is granted and the sin is not raised again, or held against them further.
Again, we need to look at this in the context of our own sin and unworthiness.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
What a glorious Gospel we hold to! Unworthy sinners, forgiven our sins freely by the grace of God, even though this was a debt that we could never repay… ever…
And yet God freely forgives. And so, we ought to forgive our brother.
3. The Enabling Faith of a Disciple (vv.5-6)
3. The Enabling Faith of a Disciple (vv.5-6)
In verse 5 we read…
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
This is striking from the side of the disciples, especially as Luke records this. From the context, and from the flow of Luke’s record of these teachings, the disciples are responding to Christ’s call to forgive 7 times a day, if need be.
This teaching (possibly along with many other teachings of Christ) was leading them to believe that they lacked the ability to respond accordingly. They felt the frailty and weakness of their faith, and so they cried out to him for an increase in an area in which they felt the significant limitations of their sinful humanity.
And so, in this context, the disciples plead with Christ to increase their faith.
With this in mind, the response of Jesus is actually very encouraging…
6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
Sometimes, when you read these words, it may be thought that they were a criticism of the disciples... as if Jesus were telling his disciples that they don’t even have a small faith. That is not the case, however.
Rather, Jesus is giving his disciples great encouragement in these words. The disciples have specifically asked for Jesus to increase their faith. This was the right request to make. It was a good request to make.
Keep in mind Christ’s earlier words…
11 “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?
12 “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he?
13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
Does not the same apply to asking for the good gift of faith? Of course it does.
But Jesus encourages his disciples by saying that the little bit of faith that they have is even sufficient to do these things.
Here’s what Jesus is saying… If you are asked by the Lord to perform certain tasks… if you are instructed by God to forgive your brother, even seven times in a day, then the faith that God has given as a gift to you is sufficient.
Even if you believe your faith to be small!!
Jesus is saying that the disciples should not believe that it’s impossible for them to do certain things, or live in certain ways that are called for from God.
Let me apply this more practically...
I know that this past week has been trying for many of you. You’ve faced hardships and difficulties that have been immense.
The encouragement is that when God calls you to patiently endure the very real hardships that you’re encountering right now… the faith that he has given you is sufficient for you. He will enable you to endure. Why? Because you’re strong enough? No… Because he’s a great God.
You see, our faith is never in ourselves. Our faith is in God. Listen to the words of Paul…
8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;
9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;
Dear brothers and sisters, what Christ was saying was not so much that they were amazing people, so strong and able to endure, and to do these things because of their own inner strength.
Rather, if they had faith in the truly great and Almighty, Sovereign, all-wise God, then that was sufficient to do what God was calling them to do.
Now, please don’t get confused with the Mulberry tree. And don’t go home and command trees to walk, or mountains to go and plant themselves in the sea. They won’t do it, and it’s got nothing to do with a lack of faith on your part. The point is that we cannot do what God has not decreed.
That which our faith does is based on God’s revealed will and call upon our lives. In other words, if God’s word calls you to a particular manner of life, and to a particular response to circumstances, he will enable you as you act in faith, even when that faith is small!!
What an encouragement!!
This leads us to consider our fourth mark of a disciple…
4. The Thankful Humility of a Disciple (vv.7-10)
4. The Thankful Humility of a Disciple (vv.7-10)
Jesus goes on to teach the disciples on the important place that they have within the context of serving God. This parable is somewhat difficult to appreciate on first reading. However, if we consider the context of the day, and also a previous parable from Luke 12, I think we’ll better appreciate what Jesus was teaching his disciples.
In verse 7 we read…
7 “Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’?
the picture is drawn of something that was common and typical in that day. It is a picture of a small-scale farmer. He has only one slave / servant that is doing the work out in the field.
In this picture, the servant is sent out to plow the field and do the work required.
But the question is, when coming in, would the owner invite the servant to sit at the table with him and eat? Well, not quite!
Notice…
8 Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?
The point over here is that the servant, having done the basic work required in the field, will come in and do the basic work required in the home, before he can go and relax and eat his own meal.
In verse 9 we read…
9 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?
The question here is not about if this man should have any thankfulness in him. The idea behind the picture is, will the master be surprised by the lavish extent of the servants work, and so be moved to extraordinary thankfulness. And the answer to that is quite simply, no. The servant was doing what was required of him.
In light of this, notice verse 10…
10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”
Christ is clearly showing that when a duty is performed, or there is obedience to a command of God, and there is submission to do what he requires, you are merely doing what was expected and required of you.
And here is the thrust of what Jesus is saying… you cannot lay claim to God for anything by doing what he requires of you.
Now, consider this in light of the Pharisees and religious leaders. They worked themselves meticulously to keep laws and commands. They believed that they were laying claim to God, and they expected the blessing and the praise of God.
Their heart attitude was one of self-reliance and almost a demand that God must now bless them accordingly… Come on God!! I’ve done what I was supposed to do… now you owe me…
That’s a wrong attitude. And that is precisely what Jesus is addressing here.
Look a little ahead in Luke’s Gospel to Luke 18…
9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’
Here was a man who was self-righteous, and felt deserving. God owes me, because I’ve lived my life right.
And Jesus says, if that’s your attitude you’re wrong. You’re just doing your duty…
But keep in mind what Jesus has said previously… Go back to Luke 12…
35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.
Now, is Jesus contradicting himself? Not at all!
Rather, he’s speaking to an attitude of the heart. The man who does what is required… in a sense, coldly calculating in all that he does… and then comes in and thinks he’s owed by God, he’s the one that’s got it wrong, and he’s going to be told, you were only doing what you were told to do!!
But the man that is transformed by the Gospel, who lives out his life in joyful submission and willing service of God because of what’s been done for him and given to him will be waited upon.
He doesn’t do anythinig with the thought that God owes him. He knows that God has richly blessed him in abundance beyond what he deserves, and everything is done out of joyful gratitude and submission!
What is your heart attitude as you serve God?
Do you serve God, and expect that He now owes you. He should give you a good life. He owes you success in your family; in your work; in your studies; in every area of life…
To you he will say, you were only doing the most basic of what was required. You cannot put God into debt. He never owes you.
But if you serve God with a humble spirit, and thankful appreciation of His great love and His lavish kindness to you… everything done from this perspective - humble submission under His will - he will come and serve you, and wait upon you.
Application / Conclusion
Application / Conclusion
A.1. The Gospel Transforms and Empowers
A.1. The Gospel Transforms and Empowers
The calling of the life of the disciple is a challenging one, and cannot be lived apart from the transforming power of the Gospel.
Anyone who would sit here this morning and think that all of these teachings on discipleship ought to be carried out because this is the law, and these are the rules, and these are the requirements… you’re working from the wrong starting point.
Your life must be transformed through repentance and faith in Christ. He is the only hope. And only as He indwells us can we live out this manner of life.
But once our lives are transformed, Christ mightily works in us.
A.2. Live Carefully in this World
A.2. Live Carefully in this World
A.3. Cultivate a Forgiving Spirit
A.3. Cultivate a Forgiving Spirit
A.4. Have Confidence in God
A.4. Have Confidence in God
A.5. Live in Humble Gratitude
A.5. Live in Humble Gratitude